The Price For Victory
by CaptainEMP
Summary: What if Hiccup refuses to tell Stoick how he got to the nest? How would this change the outcome of the movie and beyond? And, in the end, what will be paid to attain victory? Because there is always a price to pay for victory. Possible Major Character Death/s! No new chapter! Just editing the summary.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello everyone! Welcome to the Price of Victory!_** ** _Now, I know you are shouting at me, "You already have HTTYD: Forging a Different Path to work on! Why start another one?!"_**

 ** _Well, my dear readers, I need a change of pace when I encounter a roadblock in writing the other story._**

 ** _Now, with that said._** ** _I have spent the last half of 2018 working on this story's plot, and, I have almost completed the first arc plot-wise. (That's about ten chapters if everything goes as it should.)_**

 ** _I will be somewhat passive in updates of this story and I don't want anyone to bug me for updates._**

 ** _This will follow the canon timeline of the entire franchise, except for the necessary plot changes that this story creates._**

 ** _This story will be a bit more... dramatic. (Hopefully...)_**

 ** _Let's see if you can guess the plot after this chapter._**

 ** _If, not. Well... I guess you'll have to wait and find out! XD_**

 ** _Also, thank you, Marcus S. Lazarus, and my new co-author for helping beta-reading this story and helping with its plot! (Co-author will be introduced next chapter, hopefully.)_**

 ** _Hope you enjoy it!_**

 ** _End of A/N_**

Astrid was starting to panic. As Hiccup was being pushed to the Great Hall by his father and Toothless being forcibly locked up in one of the cages, all the tribe members were becoming agitated.

The very thought of befriending a dragon was outlandish! But the Heir of the Chief doing it? It was unfathomable!

Why would he do such a thing? He was the one who got out during every raid in an attempt to slay a dragon. The very one who had won the honor to kill his first dragon! The tribe couldn't even begin to fathom his actions.

Astrid, however, had learned how it was possible. The night before, Hiccup had shown her the truth; how he had befriended the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself! A truth he had just attempted to show the entire tribe, right before their very eyes!

However, Stoick was quick to stop it and nearly got Hiccup killed in the process! Astrid was glad she intervened -to a degree- and save him from a horrible death. But truthfully, the credit belonged to Toothless; who had somehow heard Hiccup's distressed yell all the way from the cove. How he escaped the cove walls would remain a mystery, but when he came to Hiccup's rescue, it showed her the entire bond they shared. A bond where both would go a far as to die to protect the other. Something she wished she had.

At first, the thought frightened her. She was raised to hate and kill dragons! However, when Hiccup showed her on what she would consider a romantic ride -something she would never admit to anyone- her beliefs changed. Here was a dragon who was playful and had emotions like any other person! A dragon who rushed to protect Hiccup like he was one of his own.

Something the tribe and she herself had failed to do. But she was going to rectify that.

 **~Linebreak~**

Stoick tosses Hiccup into the Great Hall, stewing over Hiccup's treasonous act. "I should have known. I should have seen the signs." He mutters under his breath and begins to pace the floor.

Hiccup tries to start explaining, "Dad."

Stoick isn't having it. "We had a deal!" He then pauses, wanting to say something more, but stops short. Snorting at whatever he was going to say, Stoick resumes pacing, repeating the cycle.

"I know we did… but that was before… ugh, it's all so messed up." Hiccup couldn't explain his actions, being too flustered.

"So everything I've heard about you in the ring is what? A trick? A lie?" Stoick stomps towards Hiccup, stopping in front of him and points in an accusing gesture, fighting back his words.

"I screwed up. I should have told you before now, but I didn't know how. So, take this out on me, be mad at me, but please… just don't hurt Toothless." Hiccup is desperate. He didn't want Toothless to face any consequences for his actions.

At hearing his son's plea, Stoick gets angry. "The dragon? That's what you're worried about, not the people you almost killed?!"

"He was protecting me! He thought you were going to hurt me! He's not dangerous!"

His words angered his father even more. "They've killed HUNDREDS OF US!"

Hiccup instantly throws back at him. "And we've killed THOUSANDS OF THEM! They defend themselves, that's all! They raid us because they have to! If they don't bring back enough food, they become the food." After a beat, Hiccup continues, "This monster on the island is like no other dragon you've ever seen!" Stoick huffs, not listening to his son until he heard the word 'Island.'

"Their island?" Stoick again gets up close to Hiccup, pointing an accusing finger at him. "So you've been to the nest." He states as a fact.

Hiccup goes silent, cursing himself for his slip up. He did not want his father to consider going anywhere near the nest. No tribe could ever face the monstrosity that lived inside of the island.

His father then picks him up by his fur vest. "How did you find it?!"

Hiccup stays surprisingly calm, despite being held up in the air by his father. "I didn't find it. And I won't tell you how to find it. Because the answer has been in front of every chief of Berk for the last three hundred years!" Stoick is beyond infuriated at his words. "If you can't see it then you're blind to what's in front of you. I tried to show you the answer, the way to peace. But here you are, throwing it back in my face!"

Stoick throws Hiccup to the ground in anger. "You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking," He starts walking towards the doors. "And you are not my son!" Right as he gets ready to open the doors of the Great Hall, Hiccup speaks up, now getting back up from the ground. "You're right Stoick." These words make the Chief freeze mid-step. The anger in Hiccup's voice is very evident. "Because my father died when my mother; whose name I don't even know, did! Now, all I see is the empty shell of what was once a great Chief… a great father. The only thing left is a grieving Chief occupying my father's body." Every word strikes Stoick like a hammer hitting a stake through his heart. He takes a moment to recompose himself, before stepping outside; slamming the Great Hall doors shut.

The Chief again pauses in front of the now closed doors, not wanting to believe what had just transpired. After a minute he shakes his head, clearing his thoughts and gets a determined look on his face. He needs to figure out what his... No, what Hiccup was talking about.

In his mind, there was no way the answer has been in front of every Chief in Berk's history. He needed to find Fishlegs, someone who could figure out what Hiccup meant. Maybe a fresh perspective would help him end this war.

 **~Linebreak~**

The other four teens came together after Hiccup's little show in the arena, with Snotlout gloating he knew Hiccup was a traitor all along.

The twins were talking animatedly about the explosions the black dragon created and admiring the damage it had created.

Fishlegs, on the other hand, was silent. He was trying to figure out why Hiccup had attempted to tame the Nightmare, and, at the same time; trying to figure out why the pitch-black dragon came and protected Hiccup from the Nightmare.

Fishlegs starts thinking out loud, "I wonder if Hiccup was trying to show us what we needed to find the nest?"

The twins and Snotlout look at him like he's crazy before the twins start fighting again over which was cooler, the explosions or the damage the opaque dragon caused. Snotlout is the first to speak up. "Why do you say that Fishlegs? What Useless did is traitorous. I mean, look at all the people that black dragon almost killed!"

"I know, but think about it. If we used a dragon, it's possible it could lead us to the nest."

At that moment Stoick appears seemingly out of nowhere. "What do you mean Fishlegs?" Stoick asks calmly.

"Oh," Fishlegs said, somewhat startled by the Chief's sudden appearance. "Well Chief, um, I was just thinking," he shifted around nervously, twiddling his fingers, "Nobody knows the dragon's nest better than a dragon, right? Uh, so if you could, I don't know, 'befriend' a dragon or something like that, maybe you could... find the nest?"

Stoick stood there for a minute, now understanding what Hiccup meant about the answer being in front of every Chief. The dragons were the answer as much as they were the problem. "I can't believe I never thought of that myself." He mutters to himself.

Then he looks to Fishlegs. "Which dragon do you recommend we take to lead us to the nest?"

Fishlegs thinks for a moment. "Well, there are three options; The Gronckle, the Nadder or the Terror. The easiest would be a Terrible Terror, due to its size. It would take nothing to restrain it."

"Thank you Fishlegs," Stoick commends Fishlegs, patting him warmly on the shoulder. "You've probably just helped end this war."

Fishlegs smiles, immensely happy to have received such praise from the chief.

The Chief walks away from the group of teens and quickly makes his way to the center of the village. "Ready the ships!" he bellows, calling all the villagers to arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there everyone and welcome to chapter two of this story!**

 **I'm sorry I can't introduce my co-author as they don't have a** **fanfiction dot net account just yet. However, they are a close friend of mine and loves to write stories. They are also sketching the cover image for this story! I'm so excited!**

 **Also, thanks for everyone's reviews! They help me keep going. Ideas are always welcome!**

 **Some parts of this chapter were taken from the script. I tried to add more details, but some parts I couldn't beat.**

 **I forgot to do this last chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to How To Train Your Dragon! If I did, well...** **I don't so stop asking! Lol**

 **~End of A/N~**

Stoick watches as the remaining supplies were loaded onto the ships. Today would begin the quest of finally getting rid of those cursed beasts once and for all.

He then gets word from one of the sailors -all the ships were ready to set sail.

"Set sail! We head towards Helheim's gate!" He bellows out.

As his ship heads out of the harbor, he sees the older Vikings along with the children of Berk gathered on the walkways, waving apprehensive farewells to the departing warriors and family members.

Suddenly, he feels like someone is staring straight at him. So, he looks up towards the source, which is on the cliffside and sees his disowned son. A sudden pang of pain and guilt hits him but quickly pushes it down. He would deal with it when he came back.

As they stare at each other, Hiccup shakes his head in a final warning. He breaks the stare and looks down at the Terror, fuming. "Lead the way, demon."

 **~Linebreak~**

Snotlout had managed to sneak onto one of the ships, hiding behind the crates full of weapons and food below the deck.

He wanted to show the tribe he was one of them and the glory of being the first teen to kill a dragon among his peers!

He also6 wanted to show his Uncle Stoick that he is the best to be Heir and an amazing Chief in the future, not his failure of a cousin.

Snotlout mentally scoffs at the thought of his useless cousin. That good for nothing traitor thought befriending dragons is the way to peace, Hah! The only good dragon is a dead dragon.

He then shifts around, trying to get in a more comfortable position. It's going to be a long ride to the nest. From what he had overheard from some of the warriors, it would take several days to arrive at the nest. Luckily, he had managed to sneak some food from his home in preparation for this trip. A hungry Viking is a weak Viking, or that's what his dad said anyways.

 **~Linebreak~**

It had been a few hours since the fleet left the docks of Berk and all the warriors were apprehensive about the prospect of getting to the nest -especially after three-hundred years of conflict. Everyone knew this battle would be going down in history. However, there was a sense of dread slowly building in the hearts of the Vikings as the hours slowly passed by.

 **~Timeskip~**

It took three whole days to arrive at Helheim's Gate, with the wind in their favor.

The armada slowly coasts towards the shroud of dense fog that is hanging like drapes from the low-hanging, ominous sky.

Stoick takes a deep breath, before ordering the fleet into the mist.

He knew this day would mark the ending of one era and the beginning of another.

All the warriors seemingly held their breaths in apprehension as the ships made their way into the fog. They only hoped this time wouldn't be like their previous attempts.

One by one the ships slowly enter into the fog, all following the leading boat in single file.

The visibility inside the fog drops immediately to nothing, making all the following ships become like ghosts in the wind.

From outside of the fog, it looked like the ships had been swallowed whole.

The only thing heard inside of the fog is the eerie creaking of wood on the water from the ships.

Stoick is at the bow of his ship, tapping his fingers on the gunwale, looking back and forth between the front of the vessel and the Terror impatiently. It was starting to look like this idea wouldn't work, as the Terror seemed unresponsive.

He looks back at the ship behind them, preparing to give a command. "Sound your positions and stay within earshot."

The command gets relayed to the other ships, and the sailors of the vessels gave their positions.

As the lead ship continues to sail further into the fog, Stoick is straining to keep a lookout, not wanting anything to surprise him or the other ships.

Massive, jagged sea stacks begin to emerge from the fog, threatening to rip any ship that got too close.

Out of nowhere, a battered ship is seen hanging from one of the sea stacks, disheartening some of the warriors.

"I was wondering where that went." Gobber idly comments.

Gobber then slowly approaches Stoick, speaking in a whisper. "Stoick… I was overhearing some of the men just now and, well, some of them are wondering what it is we're up to here. Not me of course, I know you're always the man with the plan. But some are wondering if there is, in fact, a plan at all, and, what it might be?"

Stoick keeps on looking into the fog, not bothering to look back at his longtime friend. "Find the nest and take it out."

"Ah. Of course, send them running. The old Viking fall-back. Nice and simple." Gobber nods his head in understanding.

"Shhh." Stoick suddenly quiets him, taking notice of the Terror. It looked like it's quietly reacting to something.

He quickly walks to the stern of the ship and commands the helmsman out of the way. When the helmsman does so, he grabs the tiller and takes control of the vessel.

Then, seemingly for no reason to everyone else, Stoick pulls the ship into a sudden turn -who is following the Terror's restricted movement. With his immediate reaction, the ship manages to barely miss a jagged outcrop that suddenly appears out of the soup like mist.

The ship behind them relays the direction for the turn down the line of ships.

Stoick continues to follow the Terror's movements, weaving the ship through the sea stacks.

As they get closer to land, a clicking buzz becomes audible. And, it is growing louder by the second.

"Stay low and ready your weapons." Stoick orders as he sniffs the air, they were getting close.

A moment later the ship suddenly jerks to a halt as the keel burrows into the shallow black sand of the island.

Stoick then hops overboard, landing on the beach. Suddenly, the buzzing stops. "We're here at last." He announces to himself. He then looks up, and the view of a steep volcano towering into the gloomy sky greets him.

A few hours after making landfall, all the tree trunks that had been brought on the ships were sharpened and planted into the sand in angled rows. And, the catapults that were brought had all been built and loaded.

Stoick and his generals had moved away from the rest of the warriors and were scratching out a war plan into the sand. "When we crack this mountain open, all hell is going to break loose," Stoick says, looking in direction of the Nest.

Gobber interjects with a joke. "In my undies. It's a good thing I brought extras." Everyone eye rolls at his horrible joke.

Stoick turns to face his tribe. "No matter how this ends, it ends today!"

He moves closer to the base of the volcano wall, backed by all of the tribe's warriors. He then raises his arm and drops it, signaling the catapults to let loose their loads.

Each payload from the catapults causes the cliff wall to crack and flake away. More and more hit at the hollow shell of hardened lava. As the final load hits the wall, it creates a deep, dark opening to the cavern within.

The silence that follows is deafening. Then Stoick raises his hand and closes it into a fist. A flaming bushel is then launched into the hole, lighting the inside of the cavern, which reveals the walls are choked with dragons.

Stoick raises his war hammer and rushes into the cave, slashing at the dragons who suddenly rush out of the cave in a chaotic flurry. They take to the air, bypassing all the weapon swinging Vikings below and flee the island as quickly as possible.

All the men lower their weapons, confused at what just happened.

Gobber, who is to the right of the Chief, asks what everyone is thinking. "Is that it?"

Everyone looks up and watches as the dragons pour out from every crevice and take to the sky.

A few minutes later the sound of screeching dragons fades away.

Spitelout, Gobber and all the warriors start to cheer. "We've done it!" Spitelout yells out in their supposed victory.

The Chief doesn't think so; He is still peering down into the dark throat of the cavern. The feeling of dread that had been building on the ride over has now dramatically increased.

That's when he hears it; a deep rumbling roar echoes from within the cavern, causing the ground underneath them to tremble and the ships rock in their moors from the blast of air that catches their sails.

The roar makes everyone stop cheering, and Stoick's expression drops. "This isn't over. Form your ranks and hold together!"

Everyone scrambles to organize themselves.

Suddenly, the volcano's wall starts to break apart. "Get clear!" Stoick shouts out, trying not to show any of the fear he had in his voice.

As Stoick attempts to run away from the emerging monster, a large rock falls onto his head, making him stumble to the ground. Then everything goes dark.

Everyone else starts to run back in fear as the ground continues to split open, not noticing what had happened to their Chief.

The stone is pushed away from the cliffside, making it come down like an avalanche. As the debris started to settle down, the shadow of a massive dragon emerges, revealing a dragon no one had ever seen, and,

IT

WAS

FURIOUS!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again, everyone! Welcome back to the next chapter!**

 **Now to some of the reviews I've received.**

 ** _Tellemicus Sundance: I know exactly how you feel, having read some of those stories. I do plan on going a different path._**  
 ** _However, I need to set up everything for my plan to work. I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

 ** _CB73: Thank you for your review! I hope I can give you some of the answers you seek in this chapter!_**

 ** _SuperFan: Thanks for the compliment!_**

 ** _To all the guests: Thank you for reviewing! And no, you aren't bugging me. :)_**

 **Thanks to the co-author for suggestions and pointing out errors.**

 **If you see an error, please PM me so I can fix it. Thanks!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to HTTYD.**

 **~End of A/N~**

Hiccup is on the cliffside walkway, watching over the docks as the supplies are loaded onto the ships. He stares at the fleet in disbelief, not believing his fath… Stoick... had figured out how to find the nest. The only person Hiccup knew could figure it out was Fishlegs. Only he could connect the dots from his actions to come to such a conclusion.

Hiccup watched as one of the warriors loaded the Terrible Terror onto a small wooden platform - which had rings on the sides for the ropes - tying down the small, weak, and terrified creature. At least they didn't think to take Toothless. Otherwise, he would've done something very drastic.

A few hours later the last ship was loaded and the fleet set sail towards the nest. As Stoick's ship passed by, Hiccup shook his head as a final warning, which the Chief took notice of, but promptly ignored. Hiccup felt anger. Anger like he'd never felt before in his life, 'He'll pay the price for his mistake,' Hiccup thought bitterly.

After some time had passed, and the ships are long gone, Hiccup is still on the pathway, trying to figure out what he should do next; He is so deep in thought he doesn't notice Astrid walk up right next to him. "It's a mess," she states, causing Hiccup to jump slightly in surprise at her sudden appearance, but he quickly recollects himself.

"It's a mess of the Chief's own doing," he responds, barely restrained anger seeping from his voice.

Astrid almost takes a step back at his anger. No one, besides maybe Gobber, had ever seen Hiccup so mad. But truth be told, his anger was understandable; his father didn't even give him the chance to prove his claim.

She could only ask, "What happened, Hiccup?"

He looked at her, quickly replying with his lethal trademark dose of sarcasm, though this time tinged with anger as well. "Oh, just that my father hates me enough to disown me and is leading the tribe to its death. You know, typical stuff."

Astrid could only look at him sadly. It seemed when things started going well for Hiccup; something would always be swift to undo everything he did, no matter what.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" she inquires.

Hiccup glares into the horizon, clenching his fists. "We're not going to do anything," he says through clenched teeth.

Astrid's eyes widen in shock.

Hiccup continues to speak, anger lacing every word. "I'd rather start over with the younger generation, teaching them how to get along with the dragons instead of slaughtering them, like their parents before them." He starts to tremble, hardly able to contain the rage he felt.

Astrid is speechless. Her mouth hangs agape in shock at the venomous words that had just come out of Hiccup's mouth. She couldn't believe what she's hearing: he wouldn't lift a finger to help save the tribe! She quickly recovers herself; there had to be something that could change his mind! Then the words came to her. "What about the children, Hiccup?" She begins gently, hoping to quench the flames of his anger. "Most of them are too young to really remember their parents. And, the ones who will remember will blame you for not even trying."

It seems like it was working, as Hiccup's tense shoulders start to loosen and his head starts to droop as well.

"Besides," she continues, "it was Stoick's choice to attack the nest, not the rest of the tribe. They had no choice but to obey his orders! Would you blame the whole tribe for one man's decision?"

Hiccup then gives way to hot tears of shame and guilt. How could he even think about not trying to save everyone from his father's mistake? How could he even consider condemning all those men and women to their deaths to that monster? How could he stand back and allow all the children left behind to become orphans?

He remembers nothing of his mother; Stoick wouldn't even tell him her name. To this day, he wished he could have gotten the chance to know her. Maybe he would have found in her more sympathy, understanding, and kindness - traits his father sorely lacked. He shook his head. He didn't want the other children to go through life missing a parent as he did. He gives a deep, calming sigh. "You're right, Astrid. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's just…"

Astrid puts her hand gently, reassuringly, on Hiccup's shoulder. "It's okay Hiccup. I understand."

Hiccup smiles weakly. For a moment, neither of them says a word, enjoying the calming silence and the beautiful clear blue sky.

"So…" Astrid asks, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth, "what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know," Hiccup replies, that same sarcastic tone rising into his voice again, but without any trace of the anger, he had before. "We could do something absolutely crazy that would probably get us killed."

"Be more specific," Astrid chuckles.

Hiccup puts his hand to his chin, thinking. An idea suddenly pops into his head. He whips around to face Astrid. "Alright, this is pretty crazy," he begins.

"I was expecting that," Astrid quips.

"But," Hiccup continues eagerly, "we have dragons at our disposal, the ones from the training arena." He then facepalms himself, "I completely forgot about Toothless! He's still in the arena!" His mind starts connecting the dots, "If we can befriend the rest of them, we might be able to ride them; and if we can ride them, we can get to the nest, probably just in time to stop the other Vikings… or save them, whichever comes first."

"How long does it take to get to the nest again?" Astrid asked, getting excited as well.

"On dragonback, two or three hours, maybe. By ship, it's about three days one way."

"That's fantastic! They're less than a half a day into their journey. That gives us plenty of time to prepare!"

The smile returns completely to Hiccup's face. "We'll need saddles."

"And shields!" Astrid adds.

"Some training for the others,"

"And a new tail fin for Toothless!"

"Yea...wait, What?! Why?"

"Well, leather can catch on fire, and chances are, we're going to run into boatloads of fire-breathing dragons when we get there. You might want to reconsider the tail fin."

"Huh," Hiccup furrows his brow, following her line of reasoning. "Good point. We'll need a replacement material." He taps his chin, hoping for inspiration. "Dragon skin is fireproof. I wonder if we have any lying around…"

"My dad has some hanging on his wall!"

"Perfect! We can use that! That is, of course, if your father wouldn't mind…"

Astrid shrugs nonchalantly. "It's the hide of the first dragon he ever killed, but I'm sure he'll get over it."

Hiccup laughs. "Okay, if you say so. But if your dad gets mad, just remember that this was all your idea." He then gets serious. "Gather the other teens and meet me in the arena in an hour. I'll gather some of the stuff they'll need."

Astrid gives him a big smile. "See you in an hour, dragon boy." She teases, before giving him a quick peck on his cheek and running off.

Hiccup blushes and a big dopey grin starts to form on his face. He then shakes his head, focusing his mind and heads towards the arena with a big smile on his face.

At least he had Astrid on his side.

 **~An Hour Later~**

The remaining teens followed Astrid to the arena, having no idea why she wanted them to head there. But her threats were a great incentive in getting them to move. Surprisingly, they couldn't find Snotlout anywhere in the village. But in Astrid's mind, it was almost a relief, because she had no idea how he would react to this plan that Hiccup and herself came up with. That, and his attempts to flirt with her were annoying as hell.

When they reached the arena gate, they saw every single weapon was gone, and Hiccup was standing in the middle, waiting for them to arrive.

Hiccup smiles at the group of teens. "I see Astrid was able to gather you all…" His smile drops a bit and looks to Astrid, "Where's Snotlout?"

Astrid shrugs her shoulders. "No one has seen him since the fleet left. I looked everywhere, and it seems like he just disappeared. Although," she told him aside, "personally, I'm relieved he isn't here to flirt with me."

Hiccup takes a minute to think, "Hmm… Well, we don't need him for this to work. Although I have a bad feeling as to where he might be at the moment."

"Hiccup, what are we here for?" Fishlegs asks, still trying to comprehend what is going on.

"I'm glad you asked Fishlegs." Hiccup starts moving over to the Monstrous Nightmare's cage. "You are here to help Astrid and I save the tribe."

Tuffnut is quick to question. "How can we do that? It's not like we can hop onto one of the ships like Snotlout did." Everyone, except for Hiccup, glared at him. "What did I do?" He asks.

"You muttonhead!" Ruffnut exclaims, "We searched the entire village for him, and you knew where he went all this time!" She head-butts him with her helmet, knocking him down to the ground.

"Ohhh…" Tuffnut realizes as he rubs his head. "I was wondering why we were searching for him. I thought we were playing find the Snot-man."

Hiccup and the rest facepalm themselves in exasperation. "Anyways," Hiccup continues, getting everyone back on track. "To answer Tuffnut's question, we will be getting some backup from some fire-breathing friends of mine." He smirks at Fishlegs paling complexion. "That reminds me..."

Hiccup cups his hands around his mouth and lets out a tremendous roar! Everyone, except for Astrid, jumps backs at the sound. Astrid recognized the sound and smiles -Hiccup had Toothless hide nearby in case he needed him.

A few moments later, Toothless appears on the top of the arena, shocking the other teens. Fishlegs looked like a fish out of water at the sight of the legendary Night Fury. The twins stood still; not understanding how close the black dragon is and why it wasn't hurting them.

None of the three teens had clearly seen what happened in the arena earlier that day, all they knew was Hiccup had befriended a black dragon.

"Uh- b-buh... i-is that a, a N-night Fury?!" Fishlegs finally squeaks out.

"Yep! The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself!" Hiccup looks up at his dragon friend. "Come on down bud and introduce yourself!"

Astrid and Toothless chuckle at Hiccup's 'this is a regular everyday thing' tone. Both Fishlegs and the twins gasp once again as Toothless walks down into the arena, prancing towards Hiccup like an excited dog. This includes Toothless licking Hiccup's face, making the rider yell in mock anger. "Toothless! You know this doesn't wash out!"

Toothless laughs his draconic laugh as Hiccup wipes the slobber off of his face, flicking it towards the rapscallion reptile. The dragon froze and looked at his rider in shock, before grooming himself to get rid of the sticky substance.

"How'd you like it, hmm…?" Toothless just glares at him. Hiccup mutters under his breath. "Useless reptile." Toothless suddenly sweeps his tail underneath Hiccup's feet, knocking him to the ground.

Astrid shakes her head in exasperation at their antics, though you could see a small smile forming on the edge of her lips.

Seeing Hiccup and Toothless' playful, harmless banter quickly put the teens at ease. The twins especially enjoyed the part where Hiccup got knocked to the ground.

After a few minutes of the rider and his dragon mock wrestle with each other, Hiccup gets up and brushes the dirt off his clothes. "Sorry about that…" He nervously chuckles, before clearing his throat. "Anyways, I'm going to show you how to train yourselves a dragon, although it's more like befriending them." Hiccup signals everyone to back away and pulls the lever down. "Now, let me show you how it's done."

He backs up just enough to allow the Monstrous Nightmare to get outside of its cage.

The Nightmare cautiously comes out and instantly takes notices of his surroundings, not entirely sure as to why he got released from his cage. He suddenly became defensive at the sight of the Night Fury and the teens; who were off to the side.

He then sees the same boy from earlier, standing in front of him, just like last time. A low growl escapes from its mouth.

"It's okay. It's okay… No one here is going to hurt you. Nor will I hurt you." Hiccup says in a soothing tone.

The burnt red and black spotted Nightmare stops growling and steps forward.

Hiccup takes a step back each time the Nightmare moves closer, keeping the space between them the same.

All the teens, except for Astrid, gasp at the sight of the calm dragon before them.

Toothless got nervous and attempted to get closer to Hiccup, not wanting him being so close to the other dragon; the one that had almost killed him earlier. Astrid puts a hand on his head, stopping him. "It's okay Toothless. Let Hiccup do his thing." She says in a calm whisper, scratching his head.

He leans into her touch and relaxes a little, but stays alert. He would've ignored her if not for the sheer confidence she had in her voice for his rider. He also didn't want a repeat of what had happened earlier that day.

Hiccup and the Nightmare finally reach the middle of the arena, both completely zoned in on each other. Then, Hiccup reaches his hand out and turns his head, trusting the Nightmare with his life.

All the teens hold their breaths, no one daring to move a single muscle.

A heartbeat later, the Nightmare presses its snout into Hiccup's palm, completing the bond.

"See, there is nothing for you to worry about," Hiccup says, moving in closer to pet his new friend.

The teens' jaws dropped in complete shock at the scene before them.

"And that," Hiccup concluded with a proud smile, "is how to befriend a dragon. Any questions?"


End file.
